By our Reporter
Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar resigned Monday night as Nigeria’s Defence Minister, citing health reasons, paving the way for former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, to take over according to top government sources.
Musa met with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday evening, marking his first public engagement with the president since his retirement on October 24, 2025. Sources indicated that during the meeting, Tinubu informed Musa that he would succeed Badaru as Defence Minister.
In his resignation letter dated December 1, Abubakar, 63, thanked the president for the opportunity to serve, while presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga confirmed that the resignation had been accepted. “President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week,” Onanuga said.
Badaru, a two-term governor of Jigawa State from 2015 to 2023, was appointed Defence Minister on August 21, 2023. His resignation coincides with President Tinubu’s declaration of a national security emergency, which the president plans to elaborate on in the coming days.
